Sept. 4, 2012

A-10 MEN'S SOCCER WEEKLY NOTEBOOK

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Xavier’s Luke Spencer and David Graydon of Saint Louis have been named the Atlantic 10 Conference Men’s Soccer Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, the league office announced on Tuesday. Both student-athletes were recognized for games played during the week of Aug. 27-Sep. 3.

Spencer, a senior forward, scored three times and added a game-winning assist (seven points) in the Musketeers’ victories over Wright State (Aug. 28) and Cincinnati (Sep. 2). For his efforts, Spencer was also named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week for the first time in his career. The local Cincinnati product earned his third career two-goal game and helped Xavier beat Wright State after posting the game-tying marker with a nifty touch on a pass in front of the net. Minutes later he converted a penalty kick to give XU the come-from-behind victory. Against Cincinnati, Spencer scored a goal in torrential rain to give the Musketeers the early advantage. Just after the intermission, he wrestled away a ball from a Cincinnati defender and found an open teammate for the game-winning tally, helping the Musketeers defeat the Bearcats for the first time since 2004. Spencer finished the week with 10 shots and a shot on goal percentage of .700. He currently leads the A-10 in goals, goals per game, and points.

Graydon, a freshman midfielder, turned in the game-winning goal in the Billikens’ 3-1 victory against visiting UMKC. The Kildar, Ireland, native took a pass from the left side and hammered a shot from the top of the box into the upper netting for his first career goal. Graydon has been a stabilizer in the midfield for Saint Louis so far this season, starting every game and contributing to its offensive and defensive efforts.

2012 A-10 MEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
The newly expanded eight-team A-10 Men's Soccer Championship will be held Nov. 8-11 at Charlotte's Transamerica Field. The 49ers will host the Championship for the second time in three years and third time overall since joining the Atlantic 10 during the 2005-06 academic year.

ABOUT THE A-10
The Atlantic 10 Conference was formed in 1976, is currently comprised of 16 member institutions and sponsors 21 championship sports. The mission and goal of the Atlantic 10 is to preserve, protect, and enhance the academic and athletic pursuits of the membership. The conference is committed to integrity, educational excellence and providing quality equitable championship experiences for more than 6,000 student-athletes, coaches, and support staff. The member institutions of the Atlantic 10 are Butler University, the University of Dayton, Duquesne University, Fordham University, The George Washington University, La Salle University, University of Massachusetts, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, University of Rhode Island, University of Richmond, St. Bonaventure University, Saint Joseph's University, Saint Louis University, Temple University, Virginia Commonwealth University and Xavier University.